Teacher Awrey completes Chicago Marathon

CHICAGO — When Gaylord’s Sue Awrey recently completed the Chicago Marathon, she did it not only for herself, but also in honor of her father, Leo Sepura.

Awrey, a physical education and health teacher at Gaylord Community Schools, began training for the Marathon at 43, the same age her father was when he died of cancer.

Completing the 26.2-mile trek was a powerful and emotional experience for Awrey.

“I was happy I was able to do something for myself and for him,” she said. “It was a great experience.”

Awrey set a goal of finishing the race in under four and a half hours and she completed it, finishing in 4:26.38. The experience is something she will most certainly share with her classes.

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“I will really be able to speak to them about setting goals and a fitness plan,” Awrey said. “It shows you are capable of doing anything if you set your mind do it.”

Spending much of her training hours, including those long weekend runs, at Gaylord’s peaceful Aspen Park, the buzzing scene at the start of the race was quite different.

With more than 30,000 competitors, Awrey wasn’t able to run at full speed through the first couple of miles, until the runners began spacing out a bit. Still, it was an awesome experience to be a part of something so large.

“It took me 19 minutes to get from where I was standing to the actual starting line,” Awrey said. “We went through 29 different neighborhoods in Chicago and people were lining the street the entire way. It was very exciting.”

And while the weather was still warm for October, it was nothing like the 2007 Marathon, where 80 degree temperatures caused a number of problems, including a death.